The Interview
by tsuki-llama
Summary: The Office #2. In which Hei tries to apply to the police. As himself.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** I know what you're asking: why am I randomly updating this story when there are much more exciting chapters waiting to be posted?

Well, I got tired of the total chaos that is this series, and I've decided to finish writing out the middle bits before I finish the _series_ \- which will end with the Shifu.

I have two chapters of The Interview to post (if I can get the order right without completely screwing up the comments); two more short stories (1-2 chapters each); and finally, the remaining chapters of The Shifu. Which will be the actual, final end.

I will do my best to update weekly, but because my life is even more chaotic than this series, I can't promise anything...

* * *

Misaki was elbow-deep in reports when a loud knock sounded on her open office door. Startled, she glanced up to see Kanami casually leaning against the frame.

Her friend was watching her expectantly; guilt flashed through Misaki's mind.

"We don't have a lunch date today, do we?" She flipped through her calendar. No, today _was_ the third; there was nothing scheduled.

"Nope, don't worry." Kanami shut the door, then took a seat in front of Misaki's desk. She crossed her legs, letting a lipstick-pink heel dangle from her toes. "I just wanted to bring this" she dropped a file folder on top of the central stack of papers "over before grabbing some food."

Misaki opened the file, her brow wrinkling. "This week's star activity summary report? What happened to email? What happened to _Ootsuka_?" The Astronomics liaison had been sitting at her desk all morning; there was no reason she couldn't have brought (or even better, emailed) the report herself. That was part of her job, after all.

"I told her not to worry about it; I wanted to bring it over _personally_."

Misaki didn't bother to ask why. She could tell from her friend's playful tone that Kanami was reveling in knowing something that she didn't; she was here to watch Misaki figure it out for herself.

Misaki suppressed a sigh, and scanned the report. It was a simple summary of the past week's observations: contractors that had shown activity and on what scale; stars (and thus contractors) that had exited the range of detection; new stars that had been picked up by the observatory's close-range instruments, indicating that they'd moved into the Tokyo area. She liked to keep an eye on patterns of change, even if Section Four wasn't specifically interested in any of the stars on this -

"There it is," Kanami said with a grin.

Misaki let out a long, slow exhale, willing her heart rate back down to normal as she stared at the only Messier code under the _New Entrants_ heading. Then she saw the time stamp.

"A week ago? He's been back for a _week_? Why didn't you tell me before now?"

"Well, the only official alert on that Messier code is for activity, and he hasn't made a peep. I would have mentioned his star showing up again if I'd seen it, but I've been in Okinawa, remember?"

"Shit, I forgot. Sorry." She sighed and leaned back in her chair.

A whole week, and she'd had no idea he was even in town. Not that she should know, exactly. Their deal had been that he could leave Tokyo unpursued by Section Four; she hadn't made any stipulations about returning.

She never would have _expected_ him to return; he'd been very clear that that would have been a bad decision on his part. But with the Syndicate's leadership firmly behind bars...

"I take it he hasn't stopped by to see you?" Kanami asked. "Because if he has, and you didn't tell me -"

"Of course not. Why would he? Our partnership ended at the Tokyo Explosion. That was a year ago; there's no reason for him to need to see me now." She would never get that image out of her mind, of Hei running from Pandora - running from her - even as she called after him to wait.

"Well, maybe he doesn't need to see you - but you don't think he might _want_ to see you? After all, the two of you did sort have a thing going…"

Misaki halfway regretted telling Kanami about that. But wine had been involved, and, well, she never could stop herself from over-sharing with even one glass, and they'd emptied the whole bottle. "We didn't have a thing! And even if we did, it was a one-time sort of thing. A mistake. That's all."

"One time? That's not what you -"

"You know what I mean," Misaki cut in hastily, unable to stop a blush from rising in her cheeks. She'd definitely over-shared.

Kanami grinned. "Well, want me to keep a special eye on him? We never got a photo for the specters to scan for, so unless he's wearing that creepy mask, there's no easy way of tracking him down. But I can have them search for the mask."

Misaki had to fight down the impulse to ask Kanami to do just that. Even though technically she could justify it, based on Hei's activities last year alone, she shouldn't. It would feel too much like stalking. And it wasn't even like he was an ex, or anything. Just a one-night stand. That was all.

She _wasn't_ disappointed that he hadn't so much as called her this past week. Not at all.

He'd been in town for a whole week, and she hadn't known?

"No," she said, dropping the file on top of the others. "It's not like he's banned from the city. Unless he does something illegal, he has as much right to be here as anyone else. His star hasn't shown _any_ activity though?"

"Nope. Not even a glimmer."

"That's weird," Misaki mused. "Last year, he'd already killed a contractor before we even knew there was a new player in town."

"Maybe whoever he's working for wants him to keep a low profile for a while?"

Hei didn't need to use his power to kill anyone, not when he had those knives of his. Or Kanami could be right. Shoving the mental image of him standing in her kitchen with _her_ knives from her mind, she said, "Maybe. But who is he working for - and why?"

"I don't know; that's your department, not mine."

"Yeah…it's just strange though. The last time I talked with him, he sounded…I don't know. Tired, I guess. Like he was done with this kind of life."

"Maybe he's here to take you up on your job offer." Kanami winked.

Misaki snorted. "Right. He made his opinion on _that_ idea pretty clear."

It hadn't stopped her from creating the position of course; she still believed in her vision. She just had to be extra careful who she ended up hiring - which was why the job was still vacant after four months. The superintendent had given her a deadline of six months, or he was pulling the plug on the whole thing.

If only Hei _hadn't_ been so dead-set against the idea, she'd be tempted to track him down just to make the offer again. She ought to have broached the subject differently, been less direct, perhaps. It was just that he'd be so _good_ as a police officer. There was a kind-heartedness to him that he was so desperate to hide; if only he could let that part of his personality shine through…

But it was what it was. If that was how he felt, it wasn't up to her to change his mind.

She sighed. "Speaking of job applications, Saitou's supposed to be reviewing this week's batch now."

"Think you'll get any actual contractors in this bunch?"

"I doubt it. I don't know why people seem to think that asking for external applicants means they can just ignore the whole requirement of having a Messier code."

Kanami shrugged. "Everyone wants to work for Section Four. Can you blame them, after all that great press you got, stopping the Tokyo Explosion and taking down the Syndicate?"

"Yes, I can! I didn't create this position just to have people waste my time!"

"You know, you've been wound pretty tight lately," Kanami said, raising one eyebrow. "Maybe I _should_ have the mediums track down Lingerie Boy for you, as a public service -" she broke off when Misaki's wadded-up post-it note bounced off her nose.

"Just let me know if he shows any sign of activity," Misaki said with a laugh. "Come on, I'll walk you out."

The two women opened the office door to find the whole of Section Four clustered around Saitou's desk and laughing uproariously.

"Aren't you supposed to be going through applications?" Misaki snapped at the head detective.

"We are - I mean, I am," Saitou said, holding up a crisp white sheet.

"Chief, you gotta see this one," Kouno put in. "I mean, they're all garbage, like usual, but this guy actually put some creative effort into it."

Misaki waved goodbye to Kanami, then crossed over to Saitou's desk. "I'm glad our work is entertaining," she said, irritated.

Saitou blanched at that, but Kouno just laughed. "Seriously," he said. "Check it out: 'List your native language, and any additional proficiencies.' He wrote _Native: Mandarin. Fluent: Cantonese, English, Korean, Russian, Japanese, Klingon. Proficient: Portuguese._ "

Misaki frowned. "What?"

"Right? Who the hell is fluent in that many languages? And _Klingon_?"

"Klingon is a real language, Kouno," Ootsuka said.

"I know, but he put it above Portuguese? How can you be _more_ fluent in a made up language than a real one?"

"Wait, there's a note by Klingon," Saitou said. He squinted at the paper. " _I was tracking down a target at a Con_. At least, I think that's what it says; the handwriting is awful."

Misaki huffed. "Yes, it's hilarious. Now let's get back to work."

"Wait, wait, there's more." Kouno snatched the page from Saitou. "For _previous affiliations_ , he says, ' _The Syndicate_ ' -"

"Ballsy," Matsumoto commented.

"' _Chinese MSS (infiltrating), CIA (temporary detachment from the Syndicate), People's Liberation Army (infiltrating), and Russian FSB (infiltrating)_.'"

"Does that even count as an affiliation, if you're only pretending?" Saitou asked.

"That explains why he knows Russian…"

"Ootsuka, I'm telling you, people like this don't exist in real life. He says he knows Russian because it sounds cool."

Misaki's brow furrowed. _Mandarin…_ no, that was ridiculous. A coincidence. But the Syndicate?

"Here's another good one," Kouno continued. "'How long have you been a contractor? _I don't know, it depends on how you count.'"_

 _"How you count_ ," Saitou repeated, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye.

"Is there a Messier code listed?" Misaki asked, though she already knew the answer. Kouno wouldn't have kept that back. Still, a suspicion was growing in her mind that she couldn't ignore.

"Sure - _disclosure upon request_. Upon request, my ass! He knows we'd spot a fake if he made one up like all the others do. And for _Are you a human or contractor?_ he wrote _not really_."

"Not really human, or not really contractor?"

"I mean, it's a binary question, right? You can't be both."

"Or neither."

That seed of suspicion had taken root now. Not really a contractor? That actually made a sort of sense…

Saitou nodded, oblivious to her thoughts. "It's definitely a joke, but man, all the detail here!"

"I wanna see what he does if we actually call him for an interview - like, will he try to play it straight?"

"That's a payphone number," Matsumoto said. "See the prefix?"

Kouno laughed. "Does this guy actually think he's some kind of super spy? That's some next level shit."

He tossed the application down on Saitou's desk, and Misaki's breath caught. She'd seen that scratchy, barely legible handwriting before - on a note that had been slipped into her pocket over a year ago.

She snatched up the page, eyes scanning it before landing on the name at the top. First, a phonetic spelling that could be pronounced as _Li_. Followed by _Kuro;_ the character for _Black_.

"Call him," she said, dropping the paper into a surprised Saitou's hand. "I'll clear the preliminary interview with HR."

Heart pounding, ignoring the stares of her subordinates, she stalked back to her office.


	2. Chapter 2

"Thank you for coming in, Mr. Li. I understand that Director Kirihara has already approved your application, but we are required to conduct a selection interview with all candidates before hire. Department policy."

"She has? Uh, sure; I don't mind."

"Great, let's get started then. Just answer each question honestly and to the best of your ability."

"Honestly? Yeah, I can do that. Okay. Um."

"First, why don't you tell us about yourself."

"Uh…like what?"

"Just a little about your life outside of work, why you want to be a police officer - that sort of thing."

"Oh, okay. Um, well, I used to travel a lot. I like cooking, and reading, and learning new languages."

"You've traveled? Where in particular?"

"Mostly southeast Asia. Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore. I've also been to Russia, Brazil, and Argentina."

"Oh, Cambodia is a beautiful country; I was in that region for holiday just last year. I have to say, Bangkok is a fantastic city - have you been there?"

"No! I mean no, I've never been to Thailand." * _coughs_ *

"That's too bad; you should - wait, did you say Brazil?"

"Yes."

"…How? That area's been inaccessible for over five years."

"Well, it was before the Heaven's Gate disappearance."

"Huh. What business brought you there?"

"Visiting my sister."

"I see. That was fortunate for you, visiting before the war. Oh, but your sister - was she able to make it out?"

"No. Or maybe yes. It's…not easy to explain."

"I…see. Well, I am sorry for your loss. Let's move on, shall we? So, what made you want to become a policeman?"

"Uh, well, I don't, really. But I recently lost my employment, and I need work that keeps me active. Mis - uh, Director Kirihara suggested that I apply. That was last year; I didn't think she was serious, but I applied now anyway, and I guess she meant it, because you called me for an interview."

"That is…a little unusual. Most of our applicants have had dreams of joining the police their whole lives."

"Oh. I didn't. But, uh, I think I might be good at it?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I guess I'm pretty good at hunting people down, subduing an opponent, following orders, that sort of thing."

"I see. Speaking of following orders, let's get to some more specific, scenario-based questions. Your supervisor gives you a direct order that you know is against department policy. What do you do? What if the order was against the law?"

"Like…against the law how?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is it something minor, like not returning a library book or breaking and entering, or more like, I don't know, arson?"

"…I'm not sure why the relative severity of the order makes a difference."

"I mean, if my supervisor asked me to destroy evidence to cover his own ass, I probably wouldn't do it. But if it helped out someone who was in trouble, what would it hurt?"

"Li, I have to tell you that the police are not interested in the gray areas of the law. As far as we're concerned, there _are_ no gray areas. The correct answer is, you'll gently suggest to your supervisor that the order falls outside of department policy, and if they continue to press the issue, you report it."

"Oh."

"You seem to disagree with that answer."

"No, it's a good answer."

"Hm. Well, I'll make a note here for Director Kirihara to follow up with you on this point. Next question: are you prepared to work weekends, holidays, unscheduled overtime, and night shifts?"

"Sure, I'm used to that. I work better at night anyway."

"Give us an example of a situation when you had to deal with someone who you perceived was being unreasonable, irate, or hostile toward you."

"Can you be more specific?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want an instance where they were just arguing with me, or actively trying to kill me?"

"…Why don't you describe an example that best demonstrates your ability to deescalate a situation."

"Okay. Um… Well, once I was working as a waiter in this restaurant owned by a Yakuza family, and a customer - who belonged to another crime syndicate - tried to leave without paying his bill. He got pretty angry when I gave him the check, and tried to hit me, but I held up my tray and he hit that instead. That made him more angry; but I just kept dodging his punches until he got tired. Then the boss stepped in and twisted his arm behind his back."

"Did you call the police to deal with the situation after that?"

"No, they just took him out back and beat him up."

"I…see. Let's do another scenario question. Another officer and you make a traffic stop in which the driver is subsequently arrested. During the vehicle inventory, a large sum of money is located under the seat. Your partner indicates he is going to keep the money. What do you do?"

"I…tell him that it's against department policy?"

"Good. What else?"

"Uh…does it matter whether the money legally belonged to the driver or was drug money or anything like that?"

"No."

"Okay. If he still wants to keep it, I guess I should report it?"

"You guess?"

"Yes. I mean yes, that's what I would do."

"Uh huh. Moving on. Tell us about a major accomplishment you have made with a team of co-workers."

"A major accomplishment? With a team?"

"Yes."

"Well, I usually work best alone, but I was assigned to a team when I was here in Tokyo last year. I guess the big thing that we accomplished was stopping the Tokyo Explosion."

"…Your team? Stopped the Syndicate's plan to wipe out contractors?"

"Yeah. We wouldn't have been able to do it without working together; we ended up being a pretty good team, which is weird considering that my handler shot me once for not obeying orders. Two of my partners…they sacrificed themselves to do it. I hadn't expected that."

"Well. That's…well. Um, last question: if selected, the department will make a huge investment in preparing you to serve as an officer. Why should we select you over other candidates?"

"Other candidates? Well, other people probably are better qualified than I am, and actually spent time studying for it. I don't think I'd be a huge investment though."

"Why not?"

"I'm basically already trained."

"In what way?"

"Um, well, I'm fluent in six languages, proficient in a seventh. I've mastered four styles of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, with a specialty in edge weapons, and I have over ten years experience in specials ops, espionage, contractor-related situations, and guerrilla warfare." *pause* "I'm not great with firearms though. I could probably use some more training there. Also I don't know how to fill out reports. Police do that a lot, right? Fill out reports?"

"What? Uh, yes. Reports, yes. Well, I suppose, ah, I can see why Director Kirihara wanted to bring you in. To be perfectly honest, the hiring department thought that your application must be a joke; but when it crossed her desk she told us to call you in right away."

"Oh? I mean, I maybe didn't include everything that I should have, but it's all true. For the most part. The birthday is made up; I can't remember my actual one."

"Ah? Well, regarding the application - I did want to clarify a couple of issues. For contractor status, you drew in your own bubble and called it 'not really'."

"That's right."

"So are you or are you not a contractor?"

"Mostly not, I guess. Director Kirihara knows the circumstances; I'd rather not go into it."

"Uh huh. I was going to ask why you didn't list any previous employers, but I suppose you've already addressed that, in a way. Next: under references you wrote 'dead'."

"That's right."

"All of your references?"

"Yes."

"…How did they die?"

"Painfully."

"That's not quite what I meant."

"That's all I'm going to say."

"I…see. Well, as I said, the Director has already approved your application. I'll just make some notes on your file for her to look over, and…I suppose she'll be giving you a call. Thank you for coming in, Mr., ah, Li."

"Uh, sure. Thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

_Public Security Bureau Foreign Affairs, Section Four_.

Hei stared at the words emblazoned on the frosted glass doors in front of him.

He straightened his suit jacket, taking care that his visitor's badge was clearly visible. The suit was uncomfortable, but it was important.

He'd chosen a deep blue shirt to pair with it. White with black just felt too…too much like a waiter. He was done with that phase of his life now, or at least, he hoped he was. And the blue looked good. It was a good police color.

And Misaki liked blue.

 _Not important_ , he chided himself. She wasn't a mark; he wasn't here to use to his prior knowledge to ingratiate himself with her in order to achieve an ulterior goal. And he wasn't here just to see her again, either. Even though he _did_ desperately want to see her again, no matter how much she might despise him now.

He was here for himself.

Why was he so nervous? This was just a job interview; he'd gone through a hundred interviews before now without the slightest hesitation.

Of course, he hadn't cared about any of those other jobs. It was hard to be anxious about something that was absolutely meaningless to you. And the more he'd thought about _this_ job, the more meaningful it had become, until he couldn't see any other option for himself.

He wished he could have brought at least one knife, but he'd never have gotten it through the metal detectors in the lobby.

Inhaling evenly once again, he pressed the buzzer to the side of the doors. A latch clicked after just a few moments, and one of the doors swung open to reveal a young woman with short brown hair. Her eyes widened slightly when she glanced at his face.

He recognized her.

Of all the people in Section Four, he had to be greeted by the only one who'd made him as an assassin. _Shit_.

Hei bowed politely, taking an extra moment to school his expression into one of bland friendliness.

She looked him up and down, trying and failing to hide her obvious curiosity. She _didn't_ recognize him, did she? That allergy medicine had certainly worked on Misaki; and anyway, it had been over a year. She couldn't know his face…

"Mr. Li?" the woman asked. "Hi, I'm Ootsuka Mayu. We're not quite ready for you, but you can wait inside."

She sounded friendlier than a normal person would upon recognizing someone who'd tried to kill her; he was probably safe. Probably.

Hei followed her in, skin prickling as it always did when he was entering enemy operations. But Section Four wasn't his enemy, he reminded himself; not anymore. He wondered how long it would take to lose old instincts like that…and whether he even wanted to lose them.

The woman - Ootsuka - led him into a small open space with a couple rows of desks with computers. Two doors and interior windows - blinds drawn - were set into the wall at the right. On the left was an entrance to what looked like a break room. Three dome security cameras set into the ceiling had unhindered views of the entire space.

Hei's mind automatically noted all these details; his attention, however, was focused on the three men in the center of the room, lounging in office chairs and obviously chatting instead of working. They'd all looked up at his entrance. Hei recognized only one of them.

"This is Mr. Li, the new applicant," Ootsuka said, putting a special emphasis on the word _applicant_. "Li, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Um, no, I'm okay. Thanks."

"Hang on, I know you!"

Hei tensed inwardly when the larger man stood; but he only held out his hand for Hei to shake.

"From that gangster's hotel! You used to work at the Chinese restaurant, right?"

"Um, yeah," Hei shook the proffered hand, allowing himself to feel a modicum of relief. "Saitou, right?"

The detective laughed. "That's right. _You're_ the one who applied for the contractor position?"

Saitou introduced the other two men as Kouno and Matsumoto. Hei had heard their names from Misaki before, but hadn't yet had faces to put to them.

"Wait, you're a waiter? From a restaurant? You do know this is a _contractor_ position, right," the younger man - Kouno - asked, not even bothering to try and hide his critical gaze.

Hei stuffed his hands in his pockets. He'd been hoping for a chance to speak with Misaki before meeting the rest of the team. He'd also been wondering how much Misaki had told them about his identity; they hadn't made any agreements concerning what would happen after his role as her informant ended. It hadn't occurred to him it might be necessary.

"Um, is it?" he said.

Saitou cast him a pitying look. "Come on, Li, we all know you're not a contractor. Why did you apply?"

"Well, I saw the advertisement. It sounded like a good position - and I think I have some skills that would be helpful to Section Four."

"Skills like what?" Saitou asked dubiously.

"The ad said you were looking for someone who speaks more than just Japanese and English…"

"Okay, I believe you know Chinese," Kouno said, "but Russian? And _Klingon_?"

"I mean, I haven't used them in a while; I could probably use some practice."

Kouno raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Sure. Section Four isn't for rookies - we handle seriously dangerous contractors. Have you ever even held a gun before?"

"Um, I have," Hei said. The rest of the room regarded him skeptically - except for Ootsuka, who was keeping her gaze fixed on her monitor despite the fact that she was clearly listening.

"Uh huh. When?"

Hei thought fast. He didn't want to lie; but he wasn't confident enough to tell the complete truth either. "Well, China requires all men to serve in the army after they turn eighteen…"

"I've heard that," the older man, Matsumoto, said. "They taught you to shoot? At least that's something."

"Target practice is one thing," Kouno cut in. "Have you ever actually shot _at_ someone? Like, an actual human?"

"When I was in the army? No."

Kouno was shaking his head. "Look man, your application gave us all a good laugh - but no way is even half of it true."

"Kouno's right," Saitou added, crossing his arms. "That application of yours was pretty far-fetched. I'll be honest with you, the Chief probably only called you in as a courtesy, since you gave us a hand at the hotel."

"I dunno, _that_ seems pretty far-fetched. A courtesy? From the Chief?"

"You weren't there, Kouno; Li here really stepped up and helped us out in a dangerous situation. He kept his head. I know the Chief appreciated it. I'm just saying, don't expect too much from this interview."

Hei's heart sank. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect with regard to Misaki's opinion of his application; but he hadn't expected the rest of the team to so immediately take against him. How could he explain that he _could_ be helpful, without giving away who he was?

"Yeah, I know it probably looked a little…ridiculous," he tried. "I just wanted it to stand out - get the hiring department's attention, you know?"

"One word of advice," Matsumoto said, speaking up for only the second time. His expression was almost grave. "Whatever question you're asked, answer as honestly as you can. The Chief hates lies."

"Yeah. I mean, thanks."

This was going to be a disaster; why had he thought that applying was a good idea? People like him were not cut out for Section Four. How could they be, when their entire existence - _Hei's_ entire existence - was the very antithesis of what the police stood for?

Before he could figure out how to politely escape from the room short of crashing through an exterior window, however, one of the doors to the right swung open. His breath caught as Misaki stepped out.

She looked exactly the same as when he'd last seen her a year ago. Same long hair and slim figure; same serious, focused expression.

Their eyes met and Hei's gut twisted in a fresh surge of guilt over the way they'd left things - the way _he'd_ left _her_.

Whatever emotion she might be feeling, if any, however, she kept from her face. "You're early," she said. "Good. Ootsuka, take him to the conference room while I refill my coffee." She turned to the rest of her team. "There's a few questions I want to ask him before we start the interview. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

Without another word she strode off towards the break room.

"Just be honest," Matsumoto told him in a low voice while behind him, Kouno drew a finger across his throat in a prediction of Hei's fate. "She can't fault you for that."

 _Pretty sure she can_ , Hei thought as he followed Ootsuka into the small conference room.

There were no security cameras here, although there was a small camcorder set up across from one of the seats around the table - the seat that Ootsuka pointed out to him. Hei took it cautiously, noting that at least the camera didn't appear to be on.

He gazed around the room at the grubby, partially-erased whiteboard, the newspaper clippings and department-issued bulletins taped to the walls. He half expected to find his own headshot amongst the row of wanted contractors.

Of course, no one except the Syndicate's higher-ups had ever knowingly had a photo of his face.

What would it be like to come to work here every day, see the same people every day…have the same people see him? Could he even do it? The longest position he'd ever held was five months at a retail distribution facility in Seoul, and by the last month he'd felt like a rat in a cage, itching to get out and seeing enemies around every corner.

Misaki stalked in then, interrupting the anxiety that had begun to pool in his gut. After shutting the door, she took a seat across from Hei, set down a chipped blue and white coffee mug, and opened a file folder on the table in front of her.

Then she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Hei tensed for the accusations that were sure to come.

"Your application was certainly a surprise," she said after a pregnant pause.

"Um, yeah, I guess." His gaze automatically flicked up to the camera behind her.

Misaki saw. "It's not recording," she assured him, her voice softening a bit. "Though I'll have to turn it on when the official interview starts. Department policy. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

"Tell me if it isn't - really."

Hei blinked in surprise. "It's okay. I mean, I usually avoid being recorded at all costs, but there's no reason to anymore. I have to get used to the idea, is all."

Misaki nodded. "Okay. Well, I just want to clarify a few things with you before I bring in the rest of the team. But first I have to ask - why?"

"Why…"

Why did he leave her in the middle of the night like a total asshole? He had no answer for that. Not one that could excuse him, anyway.

"Why apply at all? I seem to recall you had a very strong opinion _against_ contractors working with Section Four, the last time I mentioned it."

Her gaze was hard and unflinching. So, she going to avoid the topic of what had happened between them that night, but she was definitely angry about it. Hei wasn't sure to be relieved or worried.

He studied his hands, considering his answer carefully. "Last year, I did think it was a terrible idea," he said at last. "I had a…a bias, I guess, against contractors. Even though I was starting to see signs that maybe they were changing, that maybe there was still some humanity in them, I didn't want to believe it. I know I was wrong, now."

Misaki continued to regard him, her expression unchanged. "And now you think it's a good idea?"

"Now… I think that if you found the right person, then yeah. Maybe. It might be useful for your team to have someone on board who can see specters, who knows how contractors think. Someone with a specialized skill set."

"Someone who can help level the playing field," Misaki said, nodding. "And you're serious? About joining the police? You could make a whole lot more money working for another private organization like the Syndicate."

Was that really what she thought of him? "I don't care about money," he said. "Yeah, the Syndicate paid well, but the covers they gave me were usually pretty low income. I'm used to that; I don't mind it. I only stayed with them as long as I did because…because I didn't think there was any other option for me. I always just assumed that I'd work for them until someone better killed me."

He took a breath, uncomfortable with saying so much about himself. "Then a couple months ago, the Syndicate was gone, and I was still alive. Suddenly I had a whole life ahead of me, but I wasn't sure what to _do_ with it…and I remembered what you'd said. About hiring a contractor - someone like me," he finished with an awkward shrug.

"Is that the only reason?"

He couldn't tell if she was doubting him or simply looking for more information; she could give any operative a lesson in giving nothing away. "No. When we were working together…knowing that I was doing something that might actually help others. It felt…nice. Like maybe all my training finally had a purpose, besides just killing other people to keep myself alive."

"You think you can atone for the things that you've done?"

"No," he said quietly. "But maybe I can do something good."

Misaki turned her pen over in her fingers as she gazed at him across the top of her glasses. "Policework is about more than just chasing down the bad guy and then calling it a day. Most of our job happens while sitting behind a computer for days, even weeks."

"Most of _my_ jobs happened while mopping bathroom floors for days," Hei returned, pleased to hear a familiar, if small, note of friendly argument in her voice.

"And we always work together, as a team. No one goes off on their own or holds information back."

"I don't always do that," he muttered, not missing the hint of an accusation.

"You mean, you're not _going_ to do that."

"I'm not going to do that," he amended. "My posting here in Tokyo was with a team. It was hard to get used to, at first, but once I realized I could trust them…it was actually kind of nice, having backup I could count on. I'd like to work like that again."

"And you were very protective of them - I did notice that," Misaki said. She hesitated, then asked, "Did they all make it out Tokyo alright? Since you never gave me their real names or descriptions, I haven't been able to check for myself."

Hei crushed down that little seed of grief before it could take root. "No. Just me and Yin."

"I'm sorry," Misaki said quietly. "Did she come back to Tokyo with you? I can talk to Astronomics about finding a place for her."

"She wanted to go home - to Finland. After we decided we were safe from the Syndicate, we went to her hometown and found someone from her family. I stayed a month there with her, to make sure she'd be okay. She will be."

That had almost been harder for him than it had been for her. She'd been ready to revisit all the memories - good and bad - that came with seeing her home again. For Hei, however, watching her working hard to come to terms with her past stirred up all the pain that he'd spent so long actively trying to forget. He had family out there too, somewhere; family he wasn't ready to face. If he ever would be.

Misaki smiled. "I'm glad you take such good care of her."

Hei shrugged, that smile sending a warm flutter through his heart. "She didn't have anyone else. I wasn't going to just leave her on her own."

"And that's exactly the sort of relationships we have here in Section Four. If you come on board, I expect you to make an effort to be _part_ of the team; not just do you own job."

Hei nodded.

After pausing for a sip of coffee, Misaki continued, "Let's move on to your actual application." She picked up the top sheet in the file. "You didn't list your Messier code; but you still made it obvious - to me, anyway - that it was you. Why? We don't play identity games here."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you would be the first person to read it or not. I didn't want anyone else to see BK-201 and - and make up their mind just from that."

Misaki merely raised an eyebrow, so he continued, "I _want_ to work as part of a team - but will _they_? If it's me?"

She started to answer, then paused. After a moment, she said, "I'll be honest. My team isn't one hundred percent on board with the idea of hiring a contractor. They'll give it a try because they trust me, but…you may be right. _Any_ contractor that I hire is going to be up against a very ingrained bias. I've told them how instrumental you were in getting us the information we needed to track down the Syndicate's leadership, and that you came to me on your own. But you still have a pretty notorious reputation to overcome; I tend to forget that."

 _She_ forgets _that I'm a cold-blooded killer?_ Hei thought dubiously.

"So maybe we keep it quiet until the end of the interview; once everyone's had the chance to talk with you and ask questions, they'll see that you're not any different from a normal person."

Hei's mouth pressed into a flat line. "A normal person, who lied and killed for a living. They're not going to trust me."

"But what's the alternative? I'm not lying to my team about who I'm hiring."

"And I wouldn't want you to. Just maybe…don't tell them that one detail? Not in the beginning, anyway."

Misaki pursed her lips. "I suppose for the first week, while you're still getting to know each other -"

"Only a week?" Hei cut in before he could stop himself.

"You're really worried about this, aren't you," Misaki said, her warm gaze catching his. "Hei, it'll be fine, I promise. All they need is to get to know you; trust me."

"I do trust you," he told her. "But…I only have one chance at this. Once they make up their minds who I am…No one trusts me, after they find out I have a Messier code."

"Your last team did."

"Yeah, well. My handler also shot me; I electrocuted him. It took a while to get there."

Misaki blinked. "Well," she said after a pause, "how about this. I won't tell them who you are - but _you_ will. I'll leave it up to you to decide when, but you _will_."

Hei fixed his gaze on her coffee mug while he considered. What he'd taken to be an abstract design was actually a pattern of little white whales.

"Okay," he said at last. "That's fair."

"That just leaves the problem of how I explain to the rest of the team why I want to hire _you_ when the position was clearly advertised for a contractor. They know we've been having trouble finding even a halfway decent candidate…let's see how you match up, aside from that." She picked up his application form again. "The job description specifies multilingual fluency and experience living abroad - you definitely have that. We also desperately need someone who's better at going undercover than any of us are right now. I _know_ you can do that; on paper, all those fake jobs of yours could make a case for it. Though I notice you didn't list any of those jobs; you just wrote down a couple of former affiliations."

"You told me once that being a waiter wasn't my real job; I wasn't sure if you'd think it was a lie, if I wrote it here."

She glanced up him, her mouth twisting in an odd little half-smile. "And you were pretty vague about the affiliations. It seems like the only important thing missing is actual contractor-related experience; or any kind of experience involving dangerous situations."

"Well, I did maybe just now lead the others to believe that I have experience in the Chinese army…"

Misaki raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"I impersonated an enlisted soldier for two weeks in order to assassinate one of the generals?"

She ran a hand down her face and sighed. "Well, it's not technically a lie, I suppose."

"Um, actually. Speaking of technicalities…" He trailed off, having no clue how to even begin to explain it.

"Are you referring to your drawn-in bubble? _Are you a contractor - Not really?_ " she read. Then she set the application aside and pointed to the next sheet of paper in the file. "I have a note here from your preliminary interview with Officer Saiki: _Director Kirihara knows the circumstances_." She raised an eyebrow. "I don't, actually."

"Um, yeah. I really didn't want to talk about it with a stranger, so I lied. A little. Sorry."

"Will you talk about it with me? I think I already know a bit of it."

Hei blinked. "You do?"

He hadn't told anyone those details; the truth was still too raw, a wound that had just barely begun to heal over. Every time he thought about it, the thin scab tore through to bleed all over again. Yin knew, but only because she'd been there with him.

"Well, you've always shown more emotion than any other contractor I've met, though you tried to hide it. I wondered about that a lot when we were, um, working together." Her cheeks flushed the tiniest bit pink. "And I was investigating the Syndicate's history, I noticed something strange - up until the disappearance of Heaven's Gate, BK-201 and the Black Reaper were often mentioned as if they were two separate people. One of Pandora's scientists also told me something interesting: that the _original_ assignee of Messier code BK-201 was a young woman."

Misaki gazed at him over the top of her glasses. Her voice softened as she said, "You once told me that you have a sister, and that she has the same power as you. It's _literally_ the same, isn't it - how did you end up with her star, but without becoming a typical contractor yourself? What happened to her?"

As much as he hated thinking about what Bai had done at Heaven's Gate, Hei did believe that Misaki was someone he could confide in. He _wanted_ to confide in her, he realized.

He took a deep breath, and told her what he'd learned at Hell's Gate.

He kept it short; the fewer pains he had to dredge up, the better. Misaki listened without interruption, her eyes full of compassion, rather than judgment.

"Hei, I'm so sorry," she said when he'd finished. "I had no idea; I can't imagine what you must have gone through."

He gave a half shrug, his voice dry. "Whatever I went through, I chose it."

"I'm not sure I'd agree with that statement; but I guess that's not really important right now."

"No; because it means that whether we tell the others that I'm BK-201 or not, I'm _not_ actually a contractor. So I really don't fit your job description. I applied anyway, because, well, I _would_ like to get it. I hope this wasn't a waste of your time…"

"Well, you fulfill the spirit of the description, if not the letter. You'll make a good guinea pig for the department, this way - it'll be easier for you to integrate into the team with your capacity to still feel emotions, and you have the contractor background we're looking for. I think it's a perfect fit, really. I'll keep the interview questions steered away from those background details though, and more focused on scenario-type discussions, like you had in your prelim. Actually, I haven't gone over your answers to those yet - though I did see that Saiki left me a couple notes on the transcript…" She shuffled the papers until she found the one she was looking for. "Were those pretty simple for you?" she asked as she scanned the document.

"Um, well, I've never had to answer questions like that before…"

"Sure, but they should still just be common sense. Like this one about an illegal order from a superior…" Her brow furrowed. " _Against the law how?_ " she read.

"I mean, it can't always be black or white, right?" Hei tried.

" _Did you call the police…no, they just took him out back and beat him up_."

"Well, that _is_ what happened…"

" _Under references_ \- Jesus, Hei."

"I am doing my best not to lie anymore; it's not easy, after so long."

Misaki closed the folder with an exasperated sigh, but Hei could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. "Well, I'll bring in the rest of the team. The next round of questions will be similar; just think about your answers as if you were already a cop, and not a covert operative," she said.

"Um, okay. I'll try."

She rose and crossed to the door; before she opened it, she turned back to him and smiled. "That suit looks good on you, by the way."


End file.
